Could Marijuana Reduce Diabetes Risk?

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There's an unexpected link between marijuana use and factors
related to Type 2 diabetes that has medical researchers
intrigued.

Several studies have found that marijuana users take in more food
calories than nonusers, but they still have lower rates of
obesity and diabetes, and lower average body mass index (BMI)
levels.

In a new study, researchers investigated what effects marijuana
and its active ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) might have
on people's metabolism, especially insulin levels. [ 5
Diets That Fight Diseases ]

Insulin resistance — an important risk factor for diabetes —
is a metabolic disorder that occurs when the body's cells cannot
properly intake insulin. The American Heart Association estimates
35 percent of U.S. adults have metabolic disorders that include
insulin resistance.

To examine the link between THC and metabolism, researchers
gathered the results of 4,657 adults from the National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey, a cross-sectional study
administered annually by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.

Of the study's participants, 579 were current
marijuana users, 1,975 had used the drug in the past but not
recently, and 2,103 had never tried marijuana. Researchers
analyzed the participants' fasting insulin levels, cholesterol
levels, insulin resistance and waist sizes.

"These are indeed remarkable observations that are supported … by
basic science experiments that came to similar conclusions," Dr.
Joseph Alpert, professor of medicine at the University of Arizona
College of Medicine, Tucson, said in a statement.

Interestingly, only the current users of marijuana (not the
former users) experienced the positive results, suggesting that
the effects of marijuana use on insulin and insulin resistance
only occur after recent use.

To test their results, which were published in the latest issue
of The American Journal of Medicine, the researchers also
adjusted for participants who had been diagnosed with Type 2
diabetes.

Much more research needed

"After we excluded those subjects with a diagnosis of diabetes …
the associations between marijuana use and insulin levels,
[insulin resistance], waist circumference and HDL-C were similar
and remained statistically significant," Dr. Elizabeth Penner, a
co-author of the study, said in a statement.

"Is it possible that THC will be commonly prescribed in the
future for patients with diabetes or metabolic syndrome alongside
antidiabetic oral agents or insulin for improved management of
this chronic illness? Only time will answer this question for
us," Alpert said in an editorial accompanying the article in the
journal.

"We desperately need a great deal more basic and clinical
research into the short- and long-term effects of marijuana in a
variety of clinical settings such as cancer, diabetes and frailty
of the elderly," Alpert wrote.